


Trust

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 11:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17222867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: I can’t explain right now, but I need you to trust me.





	Trust

“He’s too good for me.” The words were blunt, and almost laughably out of place, coming from Jack Kelly, the illustrious strike leader, who took such pains to dress himself with all the dash and bravado of a dime novel cowboy. And yet there he was, red bandanna knotted jauntily at the neck, and his wide rimmed hat hanging like a talisman down his back, smoking a cigarette with hands that he couldn’t quite keep still.

“Then what am I, dog food?” Blink nudged his shoulder against Jack, grinning, to let him know that there were no hard feelings between them. Blink couldn’t say for sure if whatever he and Jack had had before the strike was over and done with, but it had never been very serious, and it had never been exclusive. Jack and David on the other hand…

“You know I don’t mean it like that,” Jack said. He patted Blink’s knee, then folded his hands over his lap, looking out into the distance.. The steps of the lodging house might not have been the best place to talk about this kind of thing, but it was late enough at night that nobody was around bothering them. One of the things that Blink liked best about Jack was that he always seemed to wake up at just the same odd hours of the night that Blink did.

“You know what I think you should do tomorrow,” Blink said, with a sweeping motion of his arm. “Grab onto David, yank him into the nearest alleyway, and kiss him till he can’t breath.”

Jack stared at him for a second, mouth agape, then broke out laughing.

“What?” Blink said. “It’s romantic!”

“He’d die of shock,” Jack said, then seemed to sober. “Besides, it ain’t a nice way of doing things.”

“It’s fine if you ask first, all sweet-like, and he says yes. I can’t explain right now, but I think you oughta trust me.” Blink waggled his eyebrows suggestively, which almost set Jack laughing again.

“And why should I do that? You got some special insight into romance that I don’t know about? Because last I checked…”

“Might be I have some special insight into David.” Blink said, somewhat grandly.

“You’re kidding.”

“It ain’t my place to blab things that was told to me in confidence. Besides, I ain’t any kind of snitch.”

“He should know better than to talk about the kind of stuff. Since when is the two of you even friends?”

There was a heat in Jack’s eyes that made Blink afraid that Jack was going to get up and stomp off into the night. Blink recognized it as protectiveness, but he suspected that there was also a part of Jack that was overwhelmed, if only because there was always at least a small part of Jack that was overwhelmed. It was one of the things that had drawn Blink to Jack in the first place.

“Hey,” Blink said. He put his hands on each of Jack’s shoulders, tugging him in closer so that they were almost forehead to forehead. “Maybe Dave figured something out about me, right? And maybe as far as he knows, I’m the only other person in the world, other than Mush, who thinks about things the way he does. Or at least the only fella who sees other fellas and thinks about them the way he does. That’s why he wants to talk.”

“Dave talks a lot,” Jack still didn’t sound pleased.

“Sure. He’s a regular chatterbox. But he ain’t talking about any of this with say Kloppman, or Bumlets, or the little old laundry women out on the street. He’s talking things over with someone he can trust.” Blink pointed to his own chest, just in case Jack got the wrong idea.

“Who’ll give him horrible advice.”

“Will not! What do you take me for?” Blink shoved Jack. Not very hard, which was really saying something, because usually when people said stuff like that, it really got his blood boiling.

“An idiot.”

“I give the best advice.”

“So, you think I should kiss him after asking nicely, and then what?”

“Write him a poem.”

“And then…?”

“Adopt a dog.”

“Right,” Jack rolled his eyes. “Just one small problem, Blink.”

“And what’s that?”

“I meant what I said about him being too good for me. David? He’s going places. Not like the likes of us.”


End file.
